Samuel, who worked as a cook and nanny at the Chabad House, found Moshe -- who turned 2 just after the attacks -- standing between the bodies of his slain parents.

She returned to Israel and has continued to care for the boy, helping his grandparents to raise him.

"Sandra Samuel stepped into the fire and abyss and did not think of herself," said Rabbi Shimon Rosenberg, Moshe's grandfather, at the ceremony. "She saved Moshe from the fire and we as Jews must thank and respect her."